The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released audio Monday of a conversation between a representative of the Israeli military and a civilian in Gaza who reported that Hamas is beating residents who try to evacuate northern Gaza.
The IDF is conducting intense operations in northern Gaza as it attempts to root out remaining Hamas terrorists. Though the terror organization has been shattered, it still fires sporadically at Israel, and still holds 101 hostages.
In a statement, the IDF said:
Following intelligence indications that the Hamas terrorist organization was attempting to regroup and rebuild its forces in the area of Jabaliya in northern Gaza, the IDF called on civilians in the area to evacuate for their own safety via designated humanitarian routes to the expanded Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi. The IDF’s 162nd Division is currently conducting operations against Hamas terrorist targets in the area.
However, Hamas is actively preventing Gazan civilians from heeding the IDF’s calls to move away from the combat zone in Jabaliya. In one conversation between an IDF representative and a Gazan civilian during the evacuation, the Gazan civilian described how Hamas forces were hitting them with sticks in order to prevent them from evacuating from the area.
While the IDF makes every effort to move civilians away from the battlefield, Hamas continues to make every effort to keep civilians in the line of fire.
As Breitbart News reported, the IDF announced earlier this month that it would be renewing its offensive in northern Gaza, and expanding the Al Muwasi humanitarian area in southern Gaza to accommodate more northern refugees.
